Assessments

Focus on the right things

What is it we want our students to learn?

• Endurance: Will this provide students with the knowledge and skills that will be of value beyond a single test date?
• Leverage: Will this provide knowledge and skills that will be of value in multiple disciplines?
• Readiness: Will this provide the students with the essential knowledge and skill necessary for success in the next

grade or level of instruction?

• School, Life, and State Test: Will this help students be sucessful in these areas?

How will we know if each student has learned it?

• SMART (Strategic and Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-Based and Time-bound)

How will we respond when some students do not learn it?

• Pyramid of Intervention

How can we extend and enrich the learning for students who have demonstrated proficiency?

• Enrichment

For assessments to become an integral part of the instructional process, teachers need to change their approach in three important ways:

1. use assessments as sources of information for both students and teachers,

2. follow assessments with high-quality corrective instruction, and

3. give students second chances to demonstrate success.

Gathering evidence of current levels of student learning

1. Developing strategies and ideas to build on strengths and address weaknesses in that learning

2. Implementing those strategies and ideas

3. Analyzing the impact of the changes to discover what was effective and what was not

4. Applying new knowledge in the next cycle of continuous improvement